I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for taxidermy school? I just graduated from the University of Kansas and really wanted to stay connected with the hunting community. Also I would really like to have my own company and be able take my lab Rocky with me to work everyday!

Go to taxidermy.net and look up schools of taxidermy in your region. I know you probably don't want to travel too far, but I would suggest going to a reputable school. It will pay off in the long run. If you are willing to travel, and want some one-on-one (high quality) training, may I suggest Wegner's School of Taxidermy in Milton Wisconsin. He specializes in Deer, Birds, and fish. Rinehart's in Edgerton Wisconsin has more of the classroom environment, but Dan also has some of the best teachers in the industry. Any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll see if i can lead you in the right direction. the other thing you can try, is to offer to pay a local taxidermist to teach you. You'll probably have to sign a no-competition clause that will prevent you from perfoming taxidermy for profit within a certain distance from his business. Good luck! Alot of taxidermists (like any small business owners) usually fail within their first year of business. I suggest you do it as a part-time occupation, because you'll continue to actually enjoy the work. James Parish (Mr. Taxidermist) may be able to reflect on this a little better. I believe he is a full-time taxidermist.....James, any input?

A guy near me paid something like $8000 for a school in Montana, I think, total waste of time. He calls my buddy REGULARY to get direction on a mount. My buddy offered him a deal for $2000 and with NO time frame to learn in his shop. You keep doing it until you get it right and YOU feel comfortable with an animal, then you move on. He turned it down, and has the B**ls to call and get direction. I was told that most schools only show you the first steps on animals and you sometimes don't do the finishing work on your animals because of time restraints. The instructors finish for you. This guy displays work that was finished by the school instructors, and then wonders why he gets complaints when costomers get their mounts back with sub-par work.
:cool:

Hey, did you grab the blind bag with the shells when we left the truck?
Safetys, use them: If you can see red, you can get dead!